Paris attack draws attention to Obama’s claim of progress on ISIS

While it wasn’t clear who was behind the Paris attacks, early reports said there were shouts of “Allahu akbar” just before the killing began, and other cries including, “This is for Syria.” Other late reports indicated the Islamic State was behind the attack.

Friday morning, President Obama was touting a successful airstrike that was thought to have killed “Jihadi John,” a British citizen who carried out several murders on behalf of the Islamic State.

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Obama also said the Islamic State was “contained.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest clarified that Obama’s comments, recorded Thursday but aired Friday morning, were limited to the progress made in containing the Islamic State’s territorial gains in Iraq and Syria.

But the administration’s claim of progress in the Middle East stood in stark contrast to the mayhem that unfolded in Paris, and will likely raise new questions about how western countries can protect themselves from the group. France responded almost immediately by closing off its borders.

The Islamic State has clearly suffered setbacks in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds. But the Sunni terrorist group and its acolytes have claimed responsibility for attacks in Beirut on Thursday that claimed at least 43 lives and for downing a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula Oct. 31 carrying at least 224 people.

“[W]e continue to be mindful of the fact that there are extremist organizations that have been in place for quite some time, including places like the Sinai Peninsula that may be seeking to align themselves with ISIL,” Earnest said Friday, using another acronym for the Islamic State or ISIS or Daesh as it’s known in Arabic.

“Particularly, when it comes to Sinai Peninsula, we have been aware of and vigilant about countering that extremist threat in whatever form it takes in the Sinai Peninsula for a long time now,” he said.